Residents in Margate have reacted with fury to an airline ad which makes 'cheap jibes' at the seaside town.

Easyjet has been forced to apologise and withdraw its campaign after running posters saying: "This year, end up in Malaga, not Margate."

The budget airline has been warned by angry locals that it 'picked the wrong town' for its campaign.

Supporters of Margate started a Twitter campaign in defence of the Kent seaside town.

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One Twitter user, calling herself @seasidelandlady, tweeted: "@easyJet How VERY dare you talk about OUR town like that, you can keep your cheap trips, and cheap jibes #letsallstacationatmargate Grrr."

Margate, has a rich Victorian history, but the resort has been as much a victim of the recession as any other seaside town in recent years.

Despite this, Rough Guide remarkably named it as one of the ten best places in the world to visit late last year.

Famous faces associated with the town include artist Tracey Emin, who grew up there, and perhaps less impressively, Melanie and Martina Grant, the twins from children's show 'Fun House'.

Local resident and councillor, Will Scobie, said easyJet had picked the wrong target for its ad campaign.

He said: "Margate is a fantastic town for people to visit.

"We've just been named as one of the top 10 places in the world to visit, we've got exciting local shops that you can't find anywhere else, the new Turner Contemporary art gallery and an air show this summer.

"EasyJet picked the wrong place to insult with their campaign."

EasyJet apologised and confirmed it had stopped running the ads.

It said in a statement: "There was no intended criticism of the town but, of course, we apologise to any residents of Margate who have been offended by the campaign.